


Rules and Rivalries

by Taylorisnotcute



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Everyone Is Gay, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Fred Weasley Lives, Gryffindor, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hogwarts Eighth Year Common Room, Hufflepuff, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, Love/Hate, M/M, Malfoy Manor (Harry Potter), Mutual Pining, Past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Porn With Plot, Potions Class (Harry Potter), Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Ravenclaw, Sexual Tension, Slytherin, Slytherin Dormitories, The Burrow (Harry Potter), The Forbidden Forest, Truth Serum, Truth or Dare, if you know me stop reading this please, no on really died at the battle of hogwarts, so does Sirius
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:08:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28804074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taylorisnotcute/pseuds/Taylorisnotcute
Summary: After the battle of Hogwarts, students are asked to return for another year to finish their education and destroy house rivalry. The golden trio returns with the intent to forget the past, to move on and ignore their enemies. Headmistress McGonagall creates some new rules for these eighth years forcing old rivalries to stay in the past.Between awkward rooming situations and Pansy’s creative games, the golden trio is in for quite the surprise when they realize these Slytherins are fair more their competitive ambitions.—————I suck at description but this is a fic with too many tropes. Truth or dare, one bed, enemies to lovers, you name it it’s here.Oh and No one dies at the battle of Hogwarts because I can’t handle angst.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Pansy Parkinson, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Blaise Zabini, Ron Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas
Comments: 5
Kudos: 68





	1. Returning to Hogwarts

Boarding the train for hopefully the last time, Harry, Hermione, and Ron reluctantly take their seats for yet another year at Hogwarts. The Golden Trio, as well as other 7th years, have been asked to return to Hogwarts to finish their education and to encourage “inter house unity” once again. It took a lot of convincing on Hermione’s part to get both boys on board with coming back for another year, but if the boys have learned anything at Hogwarts, it's that you don't want to piss off Hermione. 

The trio all tried to get their minds off of school in the aftermath of the war. Hermione spent her time trying to fix her family and help heal others who suffered during the battle. Ron, already tired of school and his family, had found an escape at his twin brother’s joke shop (Fred and George would never object to having someone test their latest product). Hermione only barely convinced him to return once he discovered she was the one who found Fred just in time to save his life. Then, there was Harry. 

Harry, who has been struggling with nightmares and guilt after the war, merely spent his time trying to piece himself back together. He was successful in most aspects, or at least he convinced himself he was. He no longer had nightmares daily, nor was he as easily frightened. He had escaped the attention directly after the war and was adamant that he would continue to avoid anyone’s praise for his part in such destruction. Hermione had tried to help him with his grief and slowly, he came to terms with it, in a way. He understood more about the death eaters, especially the children who never knew better or never had a choice. He understood Dumbledore’s plan and grew to resent the man for not telling him everything when he had the chance. But eventually, he let go of that resentment and came to terms with his role in the war. And so, he came back to Hogwarts, to finish his schooling and to help heal the building as well as his peers.

“Do you think Slughorn will be teaching potions again this year, Harry?” Hermione asks, finally getting Harry’s attention. 

“I would assume so. But the real question is, who will be teaching defense against the dark arts?” 

“Bloody hell, you don’t think they will put-” Ron begins before he is interrupted by Hermione.

“No, he won’t be teaching the class Ronald. I think it will be Carrow or someone new? I haven’t had time to look into the new people who might be…” Hermione’s voice trails off as her eye catches something out the window. 

Harry and Ron glance out the window and gasp. “I didn’t think they would be coming back again after last year…” Ron mumbled. 

The trio was staring at the one and only infamous Draco Malfoy. His platinum hair neatly combed back and a typical Malfoy grimace plastered on his face. Once he boarded the train, a hush fell over the compartments. The Slytherin ignored it and took a seat in the compartment across from the trio. He slowly closed the door and began reading a book.

“That was unexpected. Who do you think will return this year?” A voice said from down the aisle. 

The trio stayed silent for a few moments before Hermione spoke. “We should try to make amends this year.” 

Almost immediately Ron objects. “With Malfoy! Even if we ignored the fact he was a Death Eater, he treated us all horrible for years. I don’t see how you -” 

Hermione elbowed him in the side, hard. “How can you be so cruel? You know exactly why he did what he did. Of course, that doesn’t make it right but you can’t expect him to deny his own family when that was all he ever knew. And if you don’t remember we were equally as horrible to him Ron!” Hermione whisper-yells at the red haired boy.

“Harry, you can’t possibly agree with her? Malfoy sided with HIM. I mean, he would have-”

“Would you two quiet down, I do agree with ‘Mione on this one, Ron. We were both stupid children when we chose sides. He didn’t choose the dark lord’s side, he chose his fathers. And you really can’t blame him for that. He was a complete pain in the arse over the years, but so were we. I would rather not start off this year with a fight between the Slytherin and Gryffindor eighth years. Better yet, I won’t be speaking to any of them.” Harry mumbles, clearly annoyed at this recurring conversation between the friends. Over the summer holidays, Malfoy and the prospect of his return to Hogwarts seems to have been the topic of one too many conversations at the burrow. 

“Can we all agree to at least be civil with the few Slytherin students who decided to return? It’s only Parkinson, Zabini, and Malfoy. Maybe Nott. You two can put up with those four can’t you? You can’t just ignore them Harry. Both of you will see, they aren’t horrible people.” Hermione spoke softly.

“So you’re taking their side now? Bloody hell.” Ron sighs.

“There are no sides Ron. After everything, you seriously need to watch your tongue.” She chastises him quietly. “Now, if you boys will excuse me, I’m going to change into my robes before we’re late again.”

She stormed out of the compartment followed by Ron who, for once, felt the need to apologize to the bushy haired girl.

Harry sighs loudly. He is entirely tired of fighting with his friends. Everyone made too many mistakes to just ignore them but letting go and forgiving the Slytherins would be harder than he expected. He stole a glance over to the aisle at his former enemy only to be met with an icy gaze. 

In that moment, he realized Malfoy heard every word of the trio’s argument.

````````````````````  
Before long, the students were filing into the great hall. 

“Students! Please find your seats. Quiet down now, I have a few announcements for this year. Due to last year’s events, we are not accepting first years at this time. However, there are some seventh year students from last year returning to finish their education here at Hogwarts. Will the new eighth years please follow me.” Professor McGonagall announces, motioning the students to follow her. 

Slowly, the new eighth years follow the headmistress to a small table sitting behind the Hufflepuff benches. With a single nod from McGonagall, the students began to fall into the seats. Hermione sat across the Gryffindor boys while the few Slytherins gathered toward the end of the table. A few Ravenclaw students sat with the one Hufflepuff between the feuding houses. 

“Now, I will not tolerate your pitiful fighting this year. There is to be no arguing this year in public areas, if you must argue, do it privately. And try not to scare the young children, boys.” McGonagall said, sending a pointed look toward Harry and Draco. “The house dormitories are not able to accommodate all of you this year however, there is a small dormitory that Filch will direct you too. Each of you must have a roommate.” 

There was a light murmur that spread across the table as everyone began to pick their housemates for the next year. Ron immediately turns toward Harry and gives a slight nod. Before long however, the headmistress clears her throat to get their attention.

“Your roommates have already been chosen for you. You must room with someone in a different house than you. They are posted in your dormitory's common room. Before you complain, might I remind you that you are here to finish your education and show the younger children that inter house unity is possible even after the… events of last year. As said before, there is to be no fighting in public areas. There will be no perfects this year to manage you. You are all nearly adults, thus being said, you are to run your own dormitory and house activities. I trust that you can handle yourselves. Do not make me change my mind. Understood?” 

A series of nods falls over the group, a few students rolling their eyes but staying silent.

“Very well. Filch, take them to the eighth year dormitory.” She gives one last pointed look to the Slytherin and Gryffindor students before returning to the front of the room.

At the slytherin end of the table, Pansy nudges Draco playfully. “I’ll bet you five galleons you’re stuck with Potter.” 

“I bet you won’t last five minutes alone with him.” Blaise adds with a snicker.

“Shut up, both of you. You’ll both end up with a Gryffindor if I do. They are forcing all of us together just to make an example out of us. This inter house unity is bloody ridiculous if you ask me.” Draco mumbles angrily. 

Meanwhile, Harry is trying to focus on anything but the fuzzy feeling in his chest at the prospect of sharing a room with someone new.

“This isn’t the worst that she could have done. Who knows, it might even be nice to get to know someone from a different house.” Hermione suggests.

Ron shakes his head and chuckles. “I hope you’re right this time, ‘Mione.”


	2. Predictable Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The roommates you expected them to be paired with wit a little spicy fight that has a little too much tension in it.

“How could you have been more wrong Hermione?” Harry mumbles as he begins to read the lists of names in the eighth year common room. Ron and Hermione both were paired with a Slytherin. He stops reading for a moment to look at his friends who are taking a long look around the room. 

There are clear elements from all the houses evident in the room, Harry observes. The fireplace in the center of the room looks more gothic than anything else in the room, it must be inspired by the dungeons of Slytherin. Then the red and yellow chairs and couches surrounding the fire must be Gryffindor and Hufflepuff inspired. There are many bookcases along the walls, no doubt for the Ravenclaw students. But the things that stood out to Harry were the enchanted rugs and paintings around the room that seemed to have strange elements from all the houses. The paintings all depicted acts of each core trait the houses represented. It would be very different from the common rooms everyone had been used to.

Just as Harry was about to walk up to one of the moving paintings, a cold laugh broke through his train of thought. “Well, Granger. I think you’ll be doing a little more than studying this year if you’re my roommate.” Pansy Parkinson loudly states as she strides over toward the Gryffindor students who are huddled together by the fire now.

Hermione takes a deep breath and smiles. “I do think that would be a nice change of events for my last year here, don’t you?” 

Pansy must not have been expecting anything short of a snarky reply because she only glared at Hermione and frowned. She quickly turns away and stomps back toward her snickering friends.

“Bug off you three, have you even seen who you’re stuck with?” Pansy mumbled shoving Blaise toward the list of names.

“Good luck with her, ‘Mione. You’re going to need it.” Harry chuckles as he starts to walk toward the list.

“Man, they really are trying with this bloody house unity shite, aren’t they?” Blaise mumbles and he turns, once again, toward the approaching Gryffindors. “Neville, love, Let’s get going. I want to have the first pick of rooms.” With a shameless wink and his flirting, (that caused an embarrassing blush to appear on the awkward boy’s face) Zabini starts to make his way up the one set of stairs at the end of the room. Neville soon follows trying to avoid the heated gaze of his friends. Draco and Pansy immediately begin laughing and poor Neville getting stuck with their flirty friend. 

“Try not to scare the bloke too bad, Zabini.” Draco calls after his friend. 

“Have you even looked at the list, Malfoy? I would if I were you.” Hermione snaps. She turns then, to her new roommate. “Shall we go see if we can get one of the larger rooms, Pansy?”

Pansy, shocked at hearing her first name being used by a Gryffindor, followed Hermione up the stairs. “Since when are you not trying to insult us, Granger?” 

“Since I need your help. I have a plan....” Her voice fades out leaving a dreaded silence in the common room. 

Ron shares one knowing look with Harry, as he sighs and checks the list. Theo clears his throat and rolls his eyes and Ron’s disgusted expression. 

“I’m not that bad of a choice, weasel. You could have gotten stuck with Dray.” Nott jabs his friend in the side and quickly runs off toward the stairs before Draco has a chance to scold him for the blasted nickname. Malfoy lets out an irritated sign and pulls at his soft, white-blonde hair that looks slightly disheveled today from the amount of times he had run his hands through it. Not that Harry had noticed, of course. 

“Harry, maybe we should consider Hermione’s idea… and try not to get yourself killed this year, mate.” Ron says looking between the two boys left in the room. 

“You better not snore, Weasly.” Nott yells down to Ron. Almost immediately, Ron runs after the boy trying to argue as he does, but ends up almost tripping up the stairs. Both Harry and Draco laugh at this but upon hearing each other’s amusement, they stop laughing and directly glare at each other. 

Harry sighs and breaks eye contact with the blonde. Before he had the chance to comment on how predictable Professor McGonagall had been by pairing the main rival houses together, Draco immediately comments, “Shut up, Potter.”

Draco starts walking toward the stone staircase that leads to the dormitories. Harry, growing angrier by the minute, stomps after him and roughly grabs his shoulder, turning him around. Forest green met glowing silver in a deadly stare. 

“I haven’t even said anything to you. Why do you have to be such a prat, Malfoy?” Harry complains, shoving the blonde’s shoulder harder than intended. Malfoy didn’t stumble back as predicted, but instead, he didn’t move an inch. 

“I don’t know, it’s not like we’ve spent the last seven years hating each other, is it? I don’t know what you expected to change now that you are the Saviour of the Wizarding World instead of the Chosen One, but might I remind you that some of us aren’t going to worship you for your part in the war. So please, go about this plan of yours, whatever it may be. I would happily watch another one of your plans fail this year.” Draco was now seething. He steps closer to Potter, leaving them nearly chest to chest. Draco, being a few inches taller than the other man, looks down with a smirk. 

Harry, red with anger, pushes the chest in front of him (ignoring the muscles stretching under his fingers). This time, Malfoy stumbles a few steps back, not expecting the shove, giving Harry time to land a solid punch to the other's jaw. The dark haired boy, being very sportsmen-like, allows the blonde to recover. Malfoy doesn’t raise his fists or even attempt to cover himself. He merely raises his hand to nurse his bruising jaw and merely stares at Harry. Unable to read his expression, Harry raises his fist and resumes taunting the enemy.

“Forgot how to fight, Malfoy? Or maybe you just don’t know what to do without your father telling-” Harry flew backward with more force than a simple punch should have been able to produce. Falling on the ground with a thud, in seconds Malfoy was straddling him, with his hand wrapping tightly against his throat. Cool, metal rings and calloused fingers dig helplessly into soft flesh, causing Harry to thrash around slightly. Malfoy pins both Harry’s hands above his wild hair with his free hand to keep the man still.

“I stopped listening to my father when he told me to kill your sorry arse. Would you rather me fulfill his wishes right now?” The man spat, only inches away from Harry’s reddening face. Loosening his grip on the other man’s throat, he waits for a response as Harry gasps for air. 

“Even if you could kill me....” Harry mumbles, trying to steady his breathing. “You wouldn’t.” Malfoy’s face screws up with an expression that can only be described as annoying guilt. “Because… you don’t actually want me dead.”

That was all Harry could get out before Pansy and Hermione both calmly walked down the stairs and over to the pair quickly.

“Fighting already?” Hermione said at the same time that Pansy mumbles, “That’s kinky, Dray” under her breath.

Harry pushes Malfoy off and scrambles out from under him as if the boy was burning him. He takes one last look and the now kneeling blonde before rushing up the stairs to the last empty dorm room, a look of pure regret on his face.

Draco stands up silently, brushes some dust off his pants and watches Harry’s retreating form. He only nods at the two girls staring at him, and starts up the stairs. 

“I bet you a sickle we catch them making out by the end of the week.” Pansy turns toward Hermione with a devilish smile playing at her lips. 

“I’ll give it two weeks.” She replied with a small laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to know, who do you think would top?


	3. Unpredictable and Unreasonable Actions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco does something that benefits (mostly) Harry while Harry discovers Draco may regret something from his past.

By the time Malfoy had reached their dorm, the last room at the end of a small corridor, Harry had already unpacked his belongings with the help of a spell, no doubt. In the small room, two beds pressed against opposite walls take up most of the space. The bed on the right was neatly made, a red duvet covered with matching pillows filled the space. Surrounding the bed was red and gold curtains, most definitely a token of Harry’s house. Despite the one side of the room being completely organized, there was no sign of Hogwarts golden boy anywhere. Malfoy, not being entirely bothered by it, began to unpack his belongings, with a few spells to speed things up a bit, of course. 

With a flick of his wand, dark green, nearly black, silk curtains and a matching set of sheets rose out of his trunk at the end of the bed and positioned themselves in the correct spots. Closing the trunk and removing his robe, Malfoy resorts to reading to pass the time. After setting his wand and robe on his trunk, he sits on his bed with his back pressed against the cold cobblestone wall and lets out a long sigh, remembering the throbbing in his jaw. Just as the blonde was trying to remember some sort of healing charm to dissipate the impending bruise (that would be entirely too visible on his pale skin), a portion of cobblestone on the wall beside Potter’s bed opens like a door on hinges. Draco looks up from his book momentarily only to look back down seconds later due to the riveting image he sees. 

Standing before him is a shirtless Gryffindor who looks to have just gotten out of the shower. In Draco’s brief glance, he notices small water droplets covering most of the man’s chest. To the blonde’s surprise, the golden boy was actually quite fit. He had broad shoulders, toned arms, and a small line of dark hair trailing into the waistband of his loose muggle sweatpants. Across his chest and forearms, scars of all sizes can be seen. But what caught the Slytherin’s eye the most was not a scar, not the water slipping ever so slowly down Harry’s chest, and not the prominent v-line (that continued further than the man’s pants allowed him to see, no doubt). No, what caught Draco’s eye was the dark red handprint across Harry’s throat. 

Instantly, a wave of guilt fell over Draco. He hadn’t meant to leave such a mark on the man. At the moment, however, he did not care how much pain he had caused him. In a matter of seconds, while Harry is too busy towel drying his wild hair, Draco makes an impulsive decision that is bound to make him lose sleep later that night. He mumbles a healing charm under his breath, directing two fingers toward Harry, performing a sort of wandless magic. The bruised skin slowly fades back to normal, tan skin. Draco mumbles the same charm for his jaw before Potter noticed he had done anything. 

“Malfoy, I swear to Godric if you just cursed me, I will-” 

“I didn’t bloody curse you, Potter. If you don’t believe me, take a damn look in the mirror. You might just want to thank me afterward.” Draco interrupts. 

Harry, still skeptical, puts on his glasses and walks back into the hidden bathroom. The daring bruise that was on his neck had disappeared, shockingly. Meaning, Malfoy had to have healed him. Harry, extremely confused, walks over to the blonde’s bed and stands directly in front of him. 

Without thinking, Potter says, “Your wand is sitting on your trunk.”

“And you are going to get my bed wet with your blasted hair. Are you only going to point out the obvious, Potter?” Draco sighs and runs his hand through his hair. He is already regretting his impulsive decision to heal the bloke.

“But… How did you… Why…” The shirtless man struggles to find the words to match his confused thoughts. 

Draco, beginning to get aggravated, remarks, “If you recall, there was a time I had to do without my wand. I simply learned how to manage. And as to why I cast the charm, it’s because…” His anger begins to dwindle as he tries to formulate a practical response. Why did he heal that bruise? “Because neither of us can afford to be caught fighting by any professor this year. Anyone would have known I was the one who choked you, I mean, you could see the imprint of my bloody rings and-”

Shooking Draco, Potter laughed. “So you did it to save your own arse? Not because you felt, I don’t know, guilty about nearly killing me again?” The golden boy was now ruffling his hair with his towel, muscles contracting as he does. He turns around, lazily walking toward his bed. More scars and healed wounds can be seen across his back. Malfoy silently scolded himself for wondering if every part of this man was lean and toned (he had dimples on his lower back which Draco decided against acknowledging).   
“You make a good point, Malfoy. Maybe next time you try to injure me, you’ll be more careful about where you leave marks.” He calls over his shoulder before casually laying on his bed, feet crossed and his hands above his head. 

Draco smirks at the unintentional innuendo, ignoring the jab at his ego. “I normally intend to make the marks quite visible. And I would say that professors don’t want to question where the marks came from normally, but you are Harry Potter, after all…” 

Harry’s face begins to redden. He brings his forearm up to cover his face and groans.”You are internally insufferable, Malfoy. Do you honestly believe that’s what I meant?”

Draco continues to smirk as he stands up and retrieves his pajamas. “Who knows. I certainly don’t know your fantasies. But it would make sense. You were following me around all of sixth year.” 

Harry’s embarrassed blush turns to a flush of anger in seconds. Hermione and Ron had made the same jabs at his when he first came out to them months ago. “As if I would ever fancy you, Malfoy.” He is now standing in the middle of the room, a mere few feet from the blonde who has his back to him. 

“And I only fancy you in your dreams, Potter,” Draco murmurs and begins to change. Harry, still feeling angry, glares at the pale man’s back. And pale it was. Light scars appear scattered over his body. As he removed his trousers, Harry still did not turn to look away. He couldn’t. He was furious at being ignored but he also couldn’t look away. The man’s body was not as hideous as he expected it to be. He was desperately trying to find a flaw in the man but couldn’t, at least not from the back. Harry had enough self-control to avoid looking at a certain area (or at least that’s what he tells himself), but it’s not until Draco pulls on his pajama bottoms does he notice something peculiar.

On the man’s forearm, where the dark mark had been just months ago, was a series of blooming flowers. Colors splashed around the edges of roses, lavender, and lilies. Greens, blues, reds… all perfectly covering up a mark no magic could hide for long.

Draco Malfoy had gotten a muggle tattoo to cover up his dark mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter for today. Next one will be longer, Promise.   
> Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, I typically write at night and my brain refuses to fuction then.


	4. Midnight Meeting and Coming out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco can't fall asleep. A heated conversation follows after Harry can't seem to keep his eyes off of Draco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make Cedric live and be a returning eighth year as well because I can.

That night with both boys’ curtains closed, two enemies lay awake, staring at the same ceiling. Neither one of them could understand what had happened today. First, Harry learned that the Slytherins had come back for another year that is bound to be filled with ridicule from everyone. (They were on the other side of the war, why would they come back to everyone resenting them?) Then, he learned he had to share a room with one. Not just a Slytherin though, THE Slytherin that had been plaguing his very existence since he was eleven. The fight aside (even if Harry was very confused about his feelings toward the handprint on his neck or how close the pair had gotten), there was the tattoo. A very muggle idea that the blonde would have most likely detested, as he hated the idea of muggle technology. Or… He used to? With too many unanswered questions in his head, Harry continues to toss and turn, unable to get comfortable.

Draco is more confused by the day than Harry. He had helped a Gryffindor. On purpose. And it was the bloody golden boy. Though it was his fault he had to heal him, he didn’t understand the feeling in the pit of his stomach when he was that close to the raven-haired boy. Sure, it could have been repulsion or hatred but this felt different. Guilt? Regret? Couldn’t be that. Draco would recognize those feelings quickly as he has wrestled with them in the months following the war. Whatever the feeling, even if it was only there for the few minutes when Potter was shirtless with Draco’s handprint on his neck, it made him want to heal the bloke. And that feeling that was supposed to be brief only grew more intense as the night when on. The image of water dripping off the other man’s chest, only a few feet away from Draco… the way his muscles shifted at his smallest movements... Finally, Draco mumbles a Lumos and decides to try and get his mind off his less than heterosexual thoughts about his rival. 

Behind his red curtain, Harry could see a small amount of light coming from his left. He silently opened his curtain to see the other man reading by the light of his wand. Unknown to Draco, Harry was staring. He couldn’t take his eyes off the other boy. The way his messy blonde hair fell over his face, casting shadows across his eyes, was captivating. His features look softer than normal. Once in a while, he would mumble a comment on the book he was reading or he would mouth the words as he read. Both drew Harry’s attention to his lips. Pink flesh only accentuated by pale skin. Trailing his eyes further down, his attention fell past the black t-shirt to his exposed forearm. Flowers cover where a snake used to be. Bright colors, blues, purples, and yellows outline black petals and vines that wrap around his arm. Resisting the sudden urge to go over and trace the tattoo with fingertips, he lays back down but continues to watch the pale man, hoping to find some sort of answer.

Draco noticed Harry staring at him after he heard the man lay back down. He ignores him for as long as he can, but the staring is starting to burn through his t-shirt, setting flames across his skin. He sets his book down beside him and slowly pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it toward the foot of his bed carelessly. He picks up his book and wand again before smirking at Harry’s shocked expression as he took in Draco’s bare skin. Lightly scared from the dark lord’s torture, Harry still thought it was beautiful against his better judgment.

“Are you done staring, Potter? If I hadn’t known any better I would have thought you were into blokes.” He spoke softly and calmly. No hint of malicious intent in his tone. 

Harry jumps at being directly addressed in such a calm manner, it takes a moment for him to register the accusation that was made against him. A light blush crept up his neck at the man’s words. Harry had already come out to most of the Gryffindors after the war and his inevitable break up with Ginny led many to assume at least one of the two were homosexual. (They both actually ended up being into the same sex.) He clears his throat trying to not sound as affected by the comment as he was. 

“I wasn’t staring. Get over yourself, Malfoy.” Harry blatantly lies.

“You were staring and might I say, for quite some time. And there’s nothing wrong with being gay, Potter. It’s easier to just admit it early on, you know.” Draco mumbles the last part, thinking back to his own struggles with his sexuality.

“Have a lot of experience with men, do you Malfoy?” Harry taunts, trying desperately to direct the conversation away from himself. He props himself up on his elbow, looking across the poorly lit room at Draco Malfoy, his gay awakening as Hermione likes to believe. She was wrong of course, his first crush on a man was actually Cedric Diggory, though he will never admit that to the returning eighth year Hufflepuff. 

“Curious about my sex life, Potter?” Draco chuckles before staring directly into green eyes. 

“In your dreams, Malfoy.” Harry sat up now, rather pissed off. He did not appreciate the man’s calm manner while hinting at Harry’s hidden sexuality. 

Draco continues to smirk and maintain his piercing eye contact with Harry. “Now you want me to dream of you, Potter? My, my, you must really-” 

“Just because I fancy men, does not mean I happen to find you attractive, Malfoy. I have standards.” Harry spits, cutting Draco off. Before adding, “If I fancied men, I mean.”

Malfoy chuckles, “I had a feeling you were gay. I myself am bisexual but recently I’ve found myself leaning toward men as you may have noticed considering the recent headlines in the Daily Prophet. And as for your standards, I’m sure I am above them in many aspects, Potter.” Draco slides off the end of his bed and takes the few steps over to where Harry is sat. Draco reaches up, and loosely grabs the bar holding up the red curtains. Harry ignores his senses telling him to look anywhere else by the pale man’s face. He maintains eye contact for a few seconds before breaking it and looking anywhere else but at Draco.

“If you didn’t find me attractive, you wouldn’t have been staring at me so intently. I could practically feel your gaze on my chest even before I took off my shirt. Save your breath, Potter.” Draco leans down so he is level with Harry, letting go of the bar. 

“And maybe try not to deny something so clearly evident by the blush on your checks.”

With that, Draco left Harry sitting there on the edge of his bed, gripping his sheets in pure anger. Draco calmly folds his discarded shirt with his back toward Harry. Harry knew his “blush” was probably just pure, blinding rage or maybe slight embarrassment for coming out to Draco in a moment of impulsivity. The Gryffindor continues his string of impulsivity when he stands and takes the few steps to where Draco is standing. Harry roughly grabs his shoulders and turns him around, a mere inches from his face. 

“I don’t know what the hell happened to you after the war, but it’s making you act more like a Gryffindor than I am right now. So please, before you get your ego anymore bruised than it already is, shut the hell up, Malfoy.” Harry angrily says as he hits the man’s chest, seemingly trying to make his point clearer. 

Draco only chuckled darkly. He took a step toward Harry, making the dark-haired boy step back. After a few seconds of this, Draco casually pushed on Harry’s chest, making him fall backward and sit on his own bed. As Draco walks back to his own bed he says without looking at Harry, “I believe you’re confusing Gryffindor’s impulsive bravery with Slytherin’s cunning ambition, Potter.” 

Draco turns around and sits on his own bed again. As Potter goes to stand again, Draco puts his hand up and smirks. “Take another step and I will not be responsible for my actions. You may deny your attraction to me but I will not deny such an accusation when it comes to your looks.” 

Harry’s blush returns and he sits back down on his bed, staring at Draco. Draco returns to reading as if nothing happened. That is until Harry mumbles something that keeps Draco awake longer than he intended to be.

Harry stares at the man reading and genuinely smiles.

“Is that a threat or a promise, Draco?” 

It could have been the fact that Harry Fucking Potter just said Draco’s first name for the first time ever or the vaguely suggestive comment but Draco was left speechless with slightly tinted cheeks.


	5. Enemies who flirt with you

“Pansy we are not doing this right now,” Draco mumbles pushing past his friend to try and escape her constant pestering. 

“It’s not even a hard question, Dray. I just asked if you remembered how your fight with Potter started. You ended up fairly close for enemies and I was just wondering-”

Draco is now walking away from his friend quickly to try and avoid the conversation. He’s not interested in reliving what happened on the first day back to Hogwarts. As he makes his way into the great hall, he takes note of some of the familiar faces at the eighth year table and, to his great disdain, he is forced to sit next to the Gryffindors by Blaise and Pansy. 

Pansy practically pushes Draco into his seat and ignores his glare as she starts talking in a hushed tone to Hermione. Quickly, Draco forgets about the private conversation he was trying to listen to as a particularly distracting roommate fills the seat across from him. Harry, as oblivious as ever, only seems to notice his fellow Gryffindors and Pansy. The smile he greets them with is something Draco has never had the pleasure of seeing. It’s genuine, filled with real happiness to be around his friends. His lips curve effortlessly into a grin that, no doubt, causes the foreign, fluttery feeling in the blonde’s stomach. 

After greeting the others, Harry finally notices the Slytherin in front of him. “Oh- Hello, Malfoy.” The Gryffindor had not let the other man’s first name slip from his lips again. He couldn’t bear the teasing from his friends if he did. 

“Harry.” Draco nods, noticing the blush that appears on the other's face and his breath becomes noticeably heavier. He smirks, continuing to eat his breakfast like nothing happened. Pansy and Hermione look between the two boys and make eye contact before giggling quietly. 

“Wait. How long have you been Harry?” Ron asks, just as confused by the interaction as Harry himself. 

Harry, deflecting attention from the situation again, faces Ron and says, “My whole life, if I remember correctly.” 

“Well no shit, Harry! I mean-” 

“Boys! Thank you. As I was saying, Pansy and I have decided the best way to kick off the new school year is to have a party. Just the eighth year and a few seventh years students. And before you ask, Seamus, yes. There will be firewhiskey and whatever else you and Dean want to bring. It will be in our common room tonight at eight. Any questions?” Hermione interrupted Ron to Harry’s great relief, but a party? With all the houses? Harry wasn’t so sure he wanted to attend. 

“But ‘Mione, we’ve already been at school almost a month. And I don’t think it’s a good idea. Do you remember how much trouble we’ve gotten into over the years for these types of parties?” Harry tries to reason with the wild-haired woman. 

“Come on, Potter! We haven’t done anything this year that fun. We survived a fucking war for merlin’s sake! Don’t be a prude.” Pansy chimes in. “Even Dray is going! And he never went to the Slytherin parties last year. We had to literally drag him out of our dorms.”

McGonagall dismisses the houses back to their dormitories for the night, but the eighth years continue their conversation. Once they are all in one group again, walking to their dorms on the other side of the castle, the Slytherins and a few others from other houses continue to pester Harry about joining the party tonight.

“What can I say? A room full of drunk people trying to hit on me isn’t my kind of party.” Draco shrugged, as they make their way down the hall. “And Pansy what have I told you about calling me Dray?”

Harry scoffs. “You must be really full of yourself to think an entire house wants you, Malfoy.”

Draco chuckles and begins walking next to Harry, leaning slightly closer than he should’ve. “You’ve never been to a Slytherin party, Potter. Pansy here,” he gestures to the raven-haired women to his right, “Likes to give potions out at parties. Last year, her favorite was love potions. And for your information, a lot of people want me in more ways than I can count. But the catch is, I don’t want any of them.” 

Rolling his eyes as he pushes the man to put some much-needed distance between them, he looks back at the now smirking blonde and says, “Is arrogance just an unsaid trait of you guys? Or is Dr- Malfoy just an exception?” Harry avoids Draco’s gaze and looks to Blaise instead.

“Draco here is just an exception, Darling. But you’re not getting out of this one. You will be attending this party.” Blaise grins, emphasizing his best friend’s name.

“But-”

“Salazar, Potter. Are you scared of a little party?” Draco continues to press closer to Harry. The pair are now climbing the stairs to the dorms, ignoring the portraits’ comments as they go. 

“You wish, Malfoy. Fine!” He turns to Hermione. “I’ll be there. But I never said I’ll stay the entire time.” 

“Brilliant. Thanks for the help Draco.” She smiles as she pulls Pansy into their room. 

Harry stares at Draco in disbelief. Was he a part of Hermione’s plan all along? Draco continues to walk to their dorm but stops when he realizes he isn’t being followed by the other man.

He sighs and walks back down to Harry, grabs his hand, and pulls him up the stairs. “You’re thinking too much again,” Draco mumbles before continuing to explain. “I do believe Granger factored our pity competitions into her plan. If Pansy knew I’d be attending the party, your little friend probably did too, considering they are living in the same room. Though I’m still not entirely sure what they are planning…” 

His voice trails off, but Harry didn’t hear a word the man said. He was too focused on the warm tingles that spread through his arm. Of course, he wasn’t aware of the blush on his cheeks or the fact he was gripping the other's hand much too tight to be unintentional, but Draco wasn’t. Harry had a dazed look on his face and he looked between the pair's intertwined hands and Draco. The blonde just smiles at him and chuckles.

“Hurry up. Some of us need some time to get ready for this party.” He drops Harry’s hand as the man suddenly seems to come back to reality.

“Going to make yourself pretty for Parkinson, aye Malfoy?” Harry pokes as they enter their dorm.

“Parkinson?” Malfoy laughs loudly. “Do you not remember how she came out right before the battle last year? She’s a lesbian, Harry. I can assure you, I will not be looking pretty for her. However, I can promise you won’t be able to take your eyes off me tonight.” He finishes with a wink before entering their bathroom and closing the door, leaving Harry wondering when Draco stopped being an annoying rival and became flirtatious and friendly…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the story so far. I like it, but I just need to find the time to write more often. I love reading comments on this so please, tell me your thoughts!


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